Science | The Guardian

On Qikiqtaruk, off Canada, researchers at the frontier of climate change are seeing its rich ecology slide into the sea as melting permafrost ice leaves little behind

Science editor Ian Sample joins host Madeleine Finlay to discuss some of the most intriguing science stories of the week. From a study finding that fat cells remembering' past obesity drives yo-yo dieting, to concerning developments in the bird flu virus, and research pinpointing which parts of the UK are best at spotting fake accentsClips: RTE, BBC, Global NewsCan you spot a fake accent? Take part in a new study from Cambridge University Continue reading...

John Calhoun designed an apartment complex for mice to examine the effects of overcrowding. It was hailed as a groundbreaking study of social breakdown, but is largely forgotten. So what happened?Standing before the Royal Society of Medicine in London on 22 June 1972, the ecologist turned psychologist John Bumpass Calhoun, the director of the Laboratory of Brain Evolution and Behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, appeared a mild-mannered, smallish man, sporting a greying goatee. After what must surely have been one of the oddest opening remarks to the Royal Society in its storied 200-plus-year history - I shall largely speak of mice," Calhoun began, but my thoughts are on man, on healing, on life and its evolution" - he spoke of a long-term experiment he was running on the effects of overcrowding and population crashes in mice.Members of the Royal Society were scratching their heads as Calhoun told them of Universe 25, a giant experimental setup he had built and which he described as a utopian environment constructed for mice". Still, they listened carefully as he described that universe. They learned that to study the effects of overpopulation, Calhoun, in addition to being a scientist, needed to be a rodent city planner. For Universe 25, he had built a large, very intricate apartment block for mice. There were 16 identical apartment buildings arranged in a square with four buildings on each side. Calhoun told his audience each building had four four-unit walk-up one-room apartments", for a total of 256 units, each of which could comfortably accommodate about 15 mouse residents. There were also a series of dining halls in each apartment building, and a cluster of rooftop fountains so the residents could quench their thirst. Calhoun had marked each mouse resident with a unique colour combination and he or his team sat in a loft over this mouseopolis, for hours every day, for more than three years, and watched what unfolded. Continue reading...

Speakers of 28 languages linked sound and shape at least 88% of the time, in strongest case of sound symbolism to date'A rolled R is a sound that many struggle to produce, but research suggests it evokes the same curious response in people the world over: an association with a jagged line.While onomatopoeia describes words that sound like the noise they describe - such as bang" - sound symbolism is a broader concept, in which sounds map on to a wider range of meanings, such as shape, texture or size. Continue reading...

Influencers are claiming raw honey can reduce symptoms but evidence for its effectiveness is weak - and relying on it instead of allergy medication has its risksAs pollen counts increase in parts of Australia throughout spring and summer, so too do the number of social media posts spruiking the benefits of locally sourced honey to alleviate hay fever symptoms.On TikTok, influencers claim raw honey is super effective" at building resistance to hay fever or even stopping hay fever for ever, while some honey sellers claim their products can help people remain antihistamine free". Continue reading...

People with genital or pelvic symptoms may feel a sense of false reassurance with a negative result, sexual health expert warns

Unlocking secrets of how the algae survive could help extend growing seasons for crop plants at high latitudesPlants left for too long in the dark usually turn sickly yellow and die, but scientists were astonished to discover tiny microalgae in the Arctic Ocean down to 50 metres deep can perform photosynthesis in near darkness.The microalgae were at 88-degrees north and started photosynthesising in late March, only a few days after the long winter polar night came to an end at this latitude. The sun was barely poking up above the horizon and the sea was still covered in snow and ice, barely allowing any light to pass through. Typical light conditions outside on a clear day in Europe are more than 37,000-50,000 times the amount of light required by these Arctic microalgae. Continue reading...

Elon Musk's SpaceX has carried out the sixth test launch of its Starship rocket, with US president-elect Donald Trump joining Musk in Texas to watch the flight. The launch was a success but the company was unable to pull off a repeat of its fifth test where giant robot arms caught the rocket's booster as it fell back to the launchpad, preventing damage and allowing for reuse. SpaceX opted instead for a fiery splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico

Northerners, Scots and Irish better at identifying people mimicking accents than southernersIt wasn't only Londoners born near a certain church in Cheapside who grimaced when Dick Van Dyke's chimney sweep, Bert, opened his mouth in the 1964 musical, Mary Poppins, an offence for which he apologised more than half a century later.But if Van Dyke murdered the cockney accent, it seems Londoners, and southerners more broadly, are among the worst at spotting people mimicking their accents, with northerners, Scots and the Irish performing better. Continue reading...

Regular exercise can delay dementia onset by 18 months, says study in British Journal of Sports MedicineBeing physically fit can lower the risk of dementia and delay someone developing it by almost 18 months by boosting brain health, research has found.Regular exercise is so useful for maintaining cognitive function that it can even help people who are genetically more predisposed to dementia to reduce their risk by up to 35%. Continue reading...

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Scientists are racing to understand what a hospitalized teen's case of bird flu may mean for future outbreaksThe teenager hospitalized with bird flu in British Columbia, Canada, may have a variation of the virus that has a mutation making it more transmissible among people, early data shows - a warning of what the virus can do that is especially worrisome in countries such as the US where some H5N1 cases are not being detected.The US absolutely" is not testing and monitoring bird flu cases enough, which means scientists could miss mutated cases like these, said Richard Webby, a virologist at St Jude children's research hospital's department of infectious diseases. Continue reading...

It's a dream for many children, but what does it actually take to become an astronaut? Science correspondent Hannah Devlin tells Ian Sample about her trip on a zero gravity flight with the European Space Agency (Esa). Back on solid ground she also got to speak to Rosemary Coogan, one of Esa's newest recruits, about the rigorous process that led to her being chosen from more than 20,000 applicants, to become an astronaut, and what she hopes to achieve in her roleSpace travel should not be just for the elites', says new British astronautFirst instinct is to swim': my trip on a zero-gravity flight with an Esa astronaut Continue reading...

By relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and peatlands to offset emissions, governments can appear closer to goals than they actually areRelying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans to offset continued fossil fuel emissions will not stop global heating, the scientists who developed net zero have warned.Each year, the planet's oceans, forests, soils and other natural carbon sinks absorb about half of all human emissions, forming part of government plans to limit global heating to below 2C under the Paris agreement. Continue reading...

Research shows fat cells are affected by obesity in a way that alters how they respond to food, potentially for yearsLosing weight can be a frustrating game: after months of successful slimming, the kilos may soon pile on again, leaving people back where they started.No one factor drives the yo-yo effect, but new research points to fatty tissue as a leading culprit. Fat remembers" past obesity and resists attempts to lose weight, scientists found. Continue reading...

Adolescent passions shape our future selves, and can be every bit as powerful - and perilous - as adult relationshipsI haven't kept many things from my teenageyears. I have a box of photos - hazy snapshots from holidays and parties, captured on disposable cameras and developed at Boots. Ihave a stack of A-level psychology notes, kept in homage to my subsequent career. And I havea letter, from a boy called Ben (not his real name),written when we were both 17. We were friendsfirst, and then he was my boyfriend, and thenhe broke my heart.I took the train to school, and for years Ben and Iwould walk to and from the station, sometimes bouncing a tennis ball back and forth between us as we spoke. We discovered films together, and music and books, and at the weekends we got drunk with our friends. When half of our year group descended on Newquay for a week after our GCSEs, we lay on the beach together one night, singing at the top of our lungs. More than anything, though, we talked: about life, about who we thought we might be, and what we wanted from the blurry future ahead. Continue reading...

Closest approach between Earth and the red planet will occur on 25 January 2025 - about 54m milesMars has continued its eastward progression, crossing from Gemini, the twins, into Cancer, the crab. On the night of 20 November, it will be joined in the night sky by a waxing gibbous moon.The chart shows the view looking east from London at 23.00 GMT. As the night progresses into the early hours of the next morning, the pair will continue to rise higher into the sky. Continue reading...

NHS centres join search for patients who have lived much longer than expected, in hope of developing new therapiesDoctors have launched a major study to understand why a small percentage of cancer patients beat the odds and survive long after being diagnosed with some of the most aggressive forms of the disease.Eight NHS cancer centres are joining dozens of hospitals around the world to find patients who had extraordinary responses to cancer treatment and lived much longer than expected. Continue reading...

A digital avatar of the king's head, complete with meticulously researched' voice, is on display in YorkTechnology has been used to recreate the voice of the medieval king Richard III, complete with a distinctive Yorkshire accent.A digital avatar of the monarch went on display at York Theatre Royal on Sunday after experts helped to generate a replica of his voice. Continue reading...

Samantha Harvey's Orbital, a love letter to our wounded planet, is the perfect choice for the political momentTo look at the Earth from space is a bit like a child looking into a mirror and realising for the first time that the person in the mirror is herself. What we do to the Earth we do to ourselves," the novelist and winner of this year's Booker prize, Samantha Harvey, said in her acceptance speech last week.Orbital, the winning novel, gives us the view from space. Set on the International Space Station (ISS), it records one day from the perspectives of sixastronauts. One day in space means 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. Instead of the asteroids and aliens ofscience-fiction, here is the mundane routine of chores, meals and sleep. The characters' backstories are glimpsed as briefly as passing stars. The only narrative propulsion is a typhoon threatening the Philippines. Nature replaces human drama as the novel's focus. It is all about perspective.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Leading philosopher says issue is no longer one for sci-fi' as dawn of AI consciousness is predicted for 2035Significant social ruptures" between people who think artificial intelligence systems are conscious and those who insist the technology feels nothing are looming, a leading philosopher has said.The comments, from Jonathan Birch, a professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics, come as governments prepare to gather this week in San Francisco to accelerate the creation of guardrails to tackle the most severe risks of AI. Continue reading...

Researchers are baffled by 12th-century corpses uncovered at a heritage learning centre built in the garden of Leicester Cathedral after discovery of Richard III's remainsIn gardens a few metres from Leicester Cathedral, archaeologists have made a disturbing discovery. Their excavations have revealed a narrow vertical shaft filled with the remains of 123 men, women and children.It is one of the largest pit burials ever excavated in the UK, with subsequent research suggesting the bodies were dumped there more than 800 years ago, early in the 12th century. Continue reading...

Mark Ward, a victim of the infected blood scandal that has killed so many, has fought all his life for truth and acknowledgement of what happened to him and so many of his peers. Now, at last, his voice is being heardMark Ward should be long dead. He ought to have been a goner decades ago. Somebody dies of infected blood every two days," he explains, and every time they do, it's a step closer to being my turn." He delivers this nonchalantly. I have to live in the fast lane, because the clock is ticking and mine is running extra fast. I've got this far on borrowed time: at some point my luck will run out." Ward's husband Richard wanders through their living room - briefly, they share a hand squeeze and smile. So, usually, I'm asked to look miserable and solemn in photographs. It's always darkness, death and destruction. It made a nice change this morning to be allowed to look happy for your pictures."In the 1970s and 80s, more than 30,000 British patients were treated with contaminated blood products teaming with harmful pathogens - a lethal scandal on a national scale. Ward, 55, a haemophiliac, was one of 6,000 bleeding-disorder patients. He was infected with HIV, multiple strains of hepatitis, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, parvovirus B19 and others. To date, at least 3,000 people have died because of a litany of institutional failures, covered up for a generation. Continue reading...

Clara Amfo and Jordan Stephens return with more bespoke celebrity playlists; a new space shuttle podcast goes into orbit; Radio 3's spin-off station takes unwinding to the next level. Plus, the ins and outs of Holst's PlanetsMake Me a Mixtape (Radio 1) | BBC Sounds

Research shows that patients with a history of cancer are less likely to develop dementia and those with Alzheimer's are less likely to develop cancer. Understanding this relationship, say scientists, could lead to new treatmentsWith age comes disease. Cancer and Alzheimer's dementia are among the commonest and most feared health conditions - particularly in countries with ageing populations such as the UK. Several decades ago, researchers at a psychiatric centre in New York observed a curious relationship between these two diseases. At autopsy, they found an inverse relation between cancer and Alzheimer's disease.In one of the first epidemiological studies on the topic Jane Driver of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts in the US followed 1,278 participants aged 65 and older for a mean of 10 years. Published in 2012, the results showed that cancer survivors had a 33% decreased risk of subsequently developing Alzheimer's disease compared with people without a history of cancer. Continue reading...

The beaver moon, the final supermoon of the year, has appeared in skies across much of the globe Continue reading...

Her last book sold 2m copies. Now the Native American ecologist is taking on capitalism. She talks about how the gift economy' could heal divisions across the US

The sensation of weightlessness is extraordinary as I join Rosemary Coogan for a breathtaking glimpse of life in spaceIt feels as if I'm hallucinating: as I lie on the floor, the ceiling suddenly sinks towards me and the walls begin to tilt at an impossible angle. It is my first experience of zero gravity on an European Space Agency (Esa) parabolic flight. In theory I know what is going on, but my brain just cannot grasp that it is actually me that is floating, that I'm suspended midair.I am accompanying Britain's first female Esa astronaut, Rosemary Coogan, on the flight as part of her zero gravity training for a potential six-month deployment to the International Space Station. During the three-hour flight, sometimes referred to as the vomit comet, the plane will trace out 31 parabolas - soaring arcs in the sky. Continue reading...

Rosemary Coogan, European Space Agency's second UK recruit, will be deployed to ISS for six monthsShe beat a field of more than 22,000 candidates and has a PhD in astrophysics and a background as a Royal Navy reserve, but the newly qualified British astronaut Rosemary Coogan believes that in future space travel should not be restricted to elites.Coogan, 33, from Belfast, who is the European Space Agency's (Esa) second British recruit, believes we are entering a revolutionary period of space exploration that will lead not only to the return of humans to the moon but also journeys to Mars and beyond. Continue reading...

Narcissists - only more devious': Anita Chaudhuri explores the world of the Dark Empath and how to recognise the danger signs; Henry VIII is a serial killer and abuser': what's behind the flood of 21st-century retellings of the Tudors, including the new TV series The Mirror and the Light?; and Philippa Perry advises one reader on how to circumnavigate emotional hesitancy. Continue reading...

Peter Reason says the Booker prize winner's novel may encourage the idea that we have to get off the planet to see what we are doing to itI was moved by Samantha Harvey's Booker prize acceptance speech and look forward to reading Orbital (I'm so not an astronaut!' Samantha Harvey on her Booker-winning space novel - and the anxiety that drove it, 13 November). However, it concerns me that her book may encourage the idea that we have to get off the planet in order to recognise, in her words, that what we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves". This view was encouraged by the famous photograph Earthrise, and by astronauts like Edgar Mitchell, who thought that seeing the beauty and fragility of Earth from space would bring about a shift in consciousness and a sense of unity and oneness.This shift has quite simply not happened, as evidenced by the accelerating loss of other life forms brought about by human action. To seek a view from outside may stop us from seeing what is before our eyes and in each breath: that every moment we're part of a living planet.

Feeling frazzled and drained at the end of the day? Try these expert micro-habitsIf you're often tempted to reach for a ready meal atthe end of a busy day, it may be a good idea to addsome ultra-easy home-cooked suppers to your arsenal. Nutritionist Sophie Trotman's secret weapon is breakfast for dinner - particularly whenit's high protein, as the macronutrient is satiating and helps to keep blood sugar balanced. Myfastfood' is scrambled eggs on toasted rye bread," she says, with sauteed spinach on the side, if I'm feeling extravagant." She also suggests mixing together eggs, banana, milled flaxseed, ground almonds and protein powder to make pancakes. Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and fruit." Continue reading...

From hard-partying TV star to mindfulness-practising family guy, Gunsberg says he got really lucky in life. But he also got osteoarthritis in his 30s

Dame Sally Davies says action on deadly antibiotic-resistant infections must be prioritisedThe rising death toll from drug-resistant bugs is very scary" and people do not even realise it is happening, the UK's special envoy for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has said.Superbugs kill more than a million people each year but neither governments nor the public recognise the scale of the threat, doctors complain. The crisis is largely driven by the misuse of antibiotics - about 70% of which are given to livestock - which encourages the evolution of microbes too strong for modern medicine to handle. Continue reading...

Archaeologist Alan Endacott says area may have been site of henge monument similar to earlier phase of Stonehenge'Two neolithic stone circles have been discovered on Dartmoor, adding credibility to the theory that a sacred arc" of monuments was built in the heart of the wild Devon uplands.One of the circles appears to have similar features to Stonehenge, while the second sits slightly outside the sweep of the arc and could have served as a gateway used by pilgrims travelling to the area. Continue reading...

The Scottish film-maker on bringing humour to his look at male emotional repression, being compared to Louis Theroux, and his problems with reality TVSilence is golden - at least where men are concerned. The strong, silent type" endures as an aspirational archetype, whether you are a man yourself, or simply someone who interacts with them. In popular fiction, the Jack Reacher action novels have sold about100m copies. The big man's catchphrase is, tellingly, not a phrase at all, rather, it's an anti-phrase: Reacher said nothing." In film, one ofthe ultimate images of machismo isArnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator: leather jacket, motorcycle and, famously, only 17 lines of dialogue in the whole of the first film.And at the frillier end of cultural representations of men, the likes of Heathcliff in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights depend more on their ability to smoulder a lady to a crisp with a glance than on their emotional articulacy.It might work in fiction but, in reality, the boys don't cry" approach can be dangerous if it leads to men bottling things up or trying to shoulder their worries alone. Suicideisstill the biggest killer of menunder50 in the UK, with men making up about three-quarters of deaths bysuicide. Continue reading...

Eight of the 43 macaques that escaped from facility breeding primates for medical research are still at largeEight monkeys that escaped from a research facility in South Carolina are still at large as of Friday morning, while 35 have been recaptured, officials say.It's been more than a week since 43 monkeys escaped from the Alpha Genesis research facility near Yemassee, South Carolina, after a caretaker failed to secure the door after feeding the monkeys and cleaning their enclosure. Continue reading...

A wonderful but thoroughly conventional celebration of the science of evolutionAll things must pass, but some leave legacies. That is the story of life on Earth. Fossilised remains of organisms represent just one of the various treasure troves of information about how life used to be, one set of clues to why it is the way it is today. In the early 20th century, genes entered the storehouse of evidence forevolution, first as theoretical particles, later as the unit of selection, and today with molecular precision. Some 165 years after Darwin's Origin of Species, evolution by natural selection is incontrovertible, the proofof it irrefutable and bounteous.Richard Dawkins has done the lord's work in sharing this radical idea for more than a third of that time, partly through research, but with wider impact in his general writing. This book, one of nearly a dozen he has written about evolution, looks set to behis last (he has called a tour tosupport it The Final Bow). Continue reading...

Handle depicting secutor gladiator found on edge of empire' to go on displayA rare and pristine example of gladiator memorabilia found in the River Tyne is to go on display, shining light on a 2,000-year-old culture of celebrity and sex appeal.English Heritage said the copper alloy figurine would have been a decorative handle on a folding knife. Found near Corbridge, Northumberland, it provides proof that the superstar status of gladiators extended to the far edges of the Roman empire. Continue reading...

A new legal framework for talking therapies would take careful work. But better signposting could happen nowHundreds of thousands of people each year in the UK seek help from counsellors and psychotherapists. But the case earlier this year of Ella Janneh, who was awarded 217,000 in damages after suing a sex therapist for personal injury and negligence, has reignited calls for statutory regulation.This was considered by the last Labour government, is backed by a number of MPs, and is certain to be on the agenda of the all-party parliamentary group on mental health. What campaigners want is for psychotherapist" and counsellor" to become legally protected titles. Among other things, this would enable people found guilty of professional misconduct to be struck off. MsJanneh is rightly appalled by the prospect that the man who abused her, Michael Lousada, could do the same thing to someone else. Currently, there is no law to stop anyone from setting themselves up in business as a therapist or counsellor without qualifications - even if they have faced sanctions before. Continue reading...

Melting snow and ice has revealed footprints of reptiles and amphibians, dating back 280 million yearsA hiker in the northern Italian Alps has stumbled across the first trace of what scientists believe to be an entire prehistoric ecosystem, including the well-preserved footprints of reptiles and amphibians, brought to light by the melting of snow and ice induced by the climate crisis.The discovery in the Valtellina Orobie mountain range in Lombardy dates back 280 million years to the Permian period, the age immediately prior to dinosaurs, scientists say. Continue reading...

Oxford University research finds ethnic background and social circumstances' are crucial factors in cancer riskBritish Bangladeshi men have the highest rates of lung cancer in England, according to a study that reveals clear patterns in how the disease affects different communities in the country.Disparities that go beyond smoking have been revealed by the University of Oxford researchers' analysis of 17.5 million people's health records and 84,000 lung cancer cases. Continue reading...

Taken at 28,000km/h and costing billions of dollars, the first ever photos taken by astronauts are on show at Paris Photo. For Nasa print dealer Daniel Blau, they are proof that nothing is impossible when nations collaborateIt was one of history's monumental moments - but if John Glenn hadn't popped into the supermarket to pick up a Contax camera and a roll of 35mm film on his way to board the Friendship 7, there may have been no visual document of it. The photographs the American astronaut took from the window of his capsule as he orbited Earth on 20 February 1962 gave an unprecedented testimony of the Mercury Project's first orbital mission. The Soviet Union might have beaten the Americans in the race to human spaceflight - but the Americans had now shot the first galactic colour photographs.The pictures are also, German gallerist Daniel Blau points out, the most expensive photographs ever taken. Billions of dollars were spent to get them." Blau exhibited an original print of Glenn's first picture taken in space at this year's Paris Photo, alongside a cache of rare Nasa photographic prints - many of them never publicly seen before, most of them by unknown scientists and astronauts. Continue reading...

People who use abbreviations were less likely to receive responses, analysis by psychologists foundReducing your texts to a flurry of abbreviations could have unintended consequences, according to researchers who found that wordless exchanges were more likely to convey idrc" than ily".Psychologists analysed messages from more than 5,000 people across eight studies and found that those who used abbreviations were deemed less sincere and were less likely to receive responses as a result. Continue reading...

Signs of resistance to artemisinin in tenth of children with severe malaria similar to situation in Asia, say researchersResearchers have found troubling" evidence for the first time that a lifesaving malaria drug is becoming less effective in young African children with serious infections.A study of children being treated in hospital for malaria in Uganda, presented at a major conference on Thursday, found signs of resistance to artemisinin in one patient in 10. Continue reading...

At a moment when the world feels like a particularly unsettling place, Science Weekly is asking what it is that makes humans happy - and how we can bring more happiness into our lives.In episode two, Ian Sample asks which happiness strategies are backed up by science. He hears from Elizabeth Dunn, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, who recently scrutinised a whole lot of happiness research to work out which recommendations are most reliableClips: 9NEWSListen to part 1: what makes a country happy? Continue reading...

She won the top prize with a time-distorted novel set on the International Space Station. Yet, the writer reveals, Orbital is actually a celebration of Earth's beauty with a pang of loss' - fuelled by her anxiety-induced insomniaSamantha Harvey very nearly gave up on her novel Orbital, which last night won this year's Booker prize. Set on the International Space Station (ISS) 250 miles from Earth, Orbital follows the day-to-day lives of four astronauts and two cosmonauts as they hurtle through the universe at 17,500mph. She was a few thousand words in and suddenly lost her nerve. She felt she was trespassing in space. I am so spectacularly not an astronaut," she laughs, when we meet for coffee the morning after the Booker ceremony. I'm so unadventurous, so unaudacious, so impractical, cowardly, anxious. I would be terrible."After a few months of dabbling with other ideas, she opened the abandoned word document on her computer by mistake. When she read it she found it had an integrity and pulse that drew her more than any of the other projects she was working on. I thought, I shouldn't be afraid of this. If I can do it in a way that's different to the way astronauts write about their time in space, then maybe there's something here." So she climbed back in and achieved lift-off. Continue reading...

Witness from Porton Down laboratory says many lethal doses' of nerve agent were applied to Sergei Skripal's doorA minuscule" amount of the nerve agent used in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal - as small as a sixth of a grain of salt - could have been enough to prove fatal, a government scientist has told an inquiry.The scientist, an expert in chemical and biological weapons, said many lethal doses" of novichok were daubed on the handle of the former Russian spy's front door in Salisbury and it was so pure that it must have been manufactured by a sophisticated laboratory. Continue reading...

About 10-15% of adults have temporomandibular disorder, a condition connected with TMJ - here's what to knowIt seems like all of my friends are having jaw pain.As we trudged deeper into our 30s, I was prepared to hear about bad backs and tricky knees. But the mouth stuff was unexpected. Some were grinding their teeth at night and needed mouthguards. Others had doctors inject botulinum toxin, commonly referred to as Botox, into aching jaws. And we are all now extremely familiar with a new body part: the TMJ, or temporomandibular joint, which connects the jawbone to the skull. Continue reading...

Gene-edited versions of large, domesticated varieties of tomato grew to be sweet like those from wild plantsIt is a common complaint in the produce aisle: tomatoes today might be big, but they are tasteless. Now researchers say they can remedy the problem by tweaking genes that affect sugar levels in the fruit.While their wild relatives produce small, sweet fruit, domesticated tomatoes grown industrially have been bred for high yields, resulting in varieties that are 10-100 times bigger. Continue reading...